Thibaut Courtois demands Chelsea top Champions League group

Thibaut Courtois says Chelsea must top their Champions League group after a 1-0 victory in Sporting Lisbon.

The west London side had a number of early chances but Germany international Andre Schurrle failed to break the deadlock in Portugal.

However, towering midfielder Nemanja Matic scored a first-half winner for the visitors, producing a header from a Cesc Fabregas free-kick.

And Courtois, who was a runner-up in the competition with Atletico Madrid last season, is demanding that the Blues seal top spot.

“We are a top team and we need to be first in the group,” Courtois told Chelsea’s website.

“After drawing our first game in the Champions League at home we had to get that first win and we’ve done that now.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game. Our priority was to win the game and the instructions from the coach were clear in that direction.

“We had chances. It’s not always as easy as it looks. The pitch was quite sandy and bouncy which makes it more difficult. Sporting had a few good moments but in general we were okay.”